


Every New Problem

by faeryroses



Category: Arc of a Scythe Series - Neal Shusterman
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Gen, Moral Dilemmas, One Shot, gleaning, her sexuality isn't necessary for the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23247295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faeryroses/pseuds/faeryroses
Summary: During her time as a junior scythe, Scythe Anastasia decides to glean someone who... turns out to be very enthusiastic about being gleaned.
Kudos: 20





	Every New Problem

**Author's Note:**

> I love this series but I haven’t read it in awhile (I also haven’t read The Toll yet oops) so forgive me if Citra is slightly OOC. Also Citra is definitely bisexual and no I will not elaborate.
> 
> this is so short sorry!! I just wanted to get this done quickly so I could Stop Procrastinating and write this damn essay :-)

Citra entered a nice restaurant. The smell of garlic allured her, striking her with the craving for pasta. But she couldn’t eat then. She had business to attend to.

Alone at a table for two sat a woman who looked to be about 22 or 23 years old. Citra had done her research, though: she had turned the corner a couple years ago after celebrating her 197th birthday. Citra puzzled over how this woman had lasted so long without another Scythe gleaning her.

Citra ignored the other restaurant attendants staring at her as she glided towards the single woman. _I’m Scythe Anastasia,_ she said to herself. Scythe Anastasia. If she didn’t remember to consciously step into her role as a Scythe, she feared she would lose the distinction between her self and her job. She sat down in one swift movement, startling the woman from staring idly into her plate of alfredo spaghetti.

“Hello,” she said. “Pepper Cassidy?”

The woman blinked, her eyes wide. The orange light above them cast warm shadows of her eyelashes, her loose curls, onto her pale cheeks. “Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m Scythe Anastasia, and you’ve been chosen for gleaning.”

The look of shock was just what Anastasia always hoped for. Scythe Curie, when she gleaned, looked for a certain deadness behind their eyes. Citra somewhat followed suit in choosing subjects. People now had grown accustomed to essentially being immortal, and they had forgotten their humanity. They lost sight of what was really important. Facing death ought to shake them out of that mindset.

“Right now?” The woman glanced around her, at the other patrons pretending not to pay attention. “In public?”

Anastasia shook her head lightly. “I’m giving you one month to put your life in order, and to say your goodbyes. Just one month. Call me when you’re ready, and you’ll tell me how you choose to die.” She handed over her business card, which had been tucked into her sleeve.

The woman offered a faltering smile. “Oh, please, that’s a lot of trouble for you, isn’t it? Just glean me now. I don’t mind how you do it.”

Citra blinked. If she hadn’t already been paralyzed with the pressure to appear stoic and professional, the woman’s unexpected answer would have frozen her instead. She had to remember herself. _I’m not Citra right now._

“No, take your time. It’s no trouble at all,” Anastasia reassured her, skeptical of her intentions. Patience is a virtue. Anastasia tried to teach herself that, so she had to uphold that same standard for others. “One month,” she repeated, and she stood up, ignoring the woman calling for her to wait.

She hadn’t so much as exited the front door of the restaurant when her cell phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Pepper Cassidy. I’m ready. You can kill me now at the Bistro with whatever method you chose.”

Anastasia rolled her eyes. “No. With all respect, I refuse. This is the method of gleaning I have chosen, and you must comply.” She tried to be stern, but honestly she sounded like a petulant child. She continued on her way down the street while the woman kept talking in her ear.

“Most Scythes glean immediately, right? Why can’t I have the same treatment?”

Her question gave Anastasia pause. Pepper was right. Most Scythes did glean right away. And if Pepper wanted her moment of gleaning to be immediate, maybe Anastasia ought to respect her wishes.

But something still unnerved her about it. “No,” she insisted again. “This is the way I do it. At least take a day to think about it.” She crossed the street, barely sparing a glance to see if any cars were coming.

Pepper’s sigh crackled over the phone. “I have no one I need to say goodbye to. No one I can pass anything onto. Everything is already in order, basically.”

From her research, Anastasia knew that Pepper had turned the corner three times after, unconventionally, aging well into her 70s. Perhaps she had grown exhausted by that point, having done everything she wanted. That was, after all, why Anastasia had chosen her for gleaning. Her time was up. Was one more month too much after such a long wait?

“No!” Anastasia shook her head decidedly. “There can’t be no one. Someone is going to miss you when you’re gone. Coworkers, neighbors. Say goodbye to them. You have a whole month.” She chose this method for a reason. She was not going to compromise herself now. “I expect to not hear from you for at least another week.” Then she hung up to call a publicar.

At dinner with Scythe Curie, Citra explained the dilemma she faced with Pepper Cassidy. Though she had decided to wait at least a week before responding to the woman, she still felt off.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Marie said after a long, thoughtful sigh. “No one else has ever gleaned like you, Anastasia. Every new problem you face, you must figure it out on your own.”

Citra poked at her dinner. Contemporary scythes had a long history to look back on for advice guiding their gleaning decisions, but Citra had nothing to guide her. Marie encouraged her to journal about it. And she tried later. But she couldn’t put anything into sensical words. It took awhile to fall asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> i’d love to hear your thoughts! if you have prompt ideas, feel free to leave them below, or bully me to write more on my tumblr (link in profile)


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